EcDev Studio

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and founder of an online jewelry media company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with EcDev Studio?

We were looking for someone to help us build an e-commerce website and integrate automation tools into all our existing systems.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

EcDev Studio provides us with ongoing e-commerce web development services. After having a discussion about what we wanted to achieve, we broke each requirement down into tasks, and worked with the design team to deliver different iteration processes.

We then set up a timeline and started developing from there, and we’ve been tracking the progress of the project and improving on it for the last four years.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested about $250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing partnership started in March 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Our major metrics include conversion rates, bounce rates, number of visitors, and overall performance. We’ve maximized the site from a design standpoint to improve the level of conversion and user-friendliness and make sure our site is running optimally.

How did EcDev Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re excellent from a project management perspective. We talk on a daily basis to go through our list of tasks, and we set up different meetings for further clarifications. So far, their communication has been great and our deadlines are always met.

We manage the project through Monday and we typically interact through Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re impressed with how they’re always willing to take on difficult challenges and dig deep into the technology to provide us with the best solutions. It’s been a continuous process of learning and improving, which I think is very important in a partnership.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything they could improve on because they’ve been great.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would advise you to be clear on your vision and expectations. Be laser-focused on what you’re trying to achieve so the progress can move along faster.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and founder of an HR platform. We’re based out of Ohio and we have 35 employees.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with EcDev Studio?

Our project is centered specifically on HR-tech products, and we needed cloud consulting because we were building a product that leverages the AWS cloud.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

EcDev Studio was one of our multiple development teams. Once our cloud solution was built by the other developers, we reviewed everything to see what EcDev Studio could supplement with their services. They went on to provide cloud consulting and developed three modules for us.

Our product was built from scratch using Node.js and React. It includes the AWS API, a Micro frontend, and a workflow engine, as well as Stripe, Strapi, and third-party vendor integrations. EcDev Studio handled the design and development, project management, testing, and DevOps.

What is the team composition?

We worked directly with their CEO. They also had a project manager, a QA manager, a testing manager, and four developers on board.

How did you come to work with EcDev Studio?

We found them through Upwork. We wanted to transform the HR industry, and we were venturing into a pretty large undertaking, so it was reassuring that their team had the experience in terms of cloud infrastructure.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested around $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The development started around October–November 2021. We came to a pause in February 2022 because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

I plan on bringing them back to finish the rest of the project by October 2022. We have three big products that we were building in the application, and they were responsible for a couple of them. I get daily feedback from them so I know where each individual has moved to in their current situation. Once they’re all in a safer place, we can start the work again.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

EcDev Studio delivered very good quality work. I was surprised that the number of defects was pretty low. 

Their team was very thoughtful and well-structured, and I liked how they approached the project and took things off of our hands to study the product in depth with their own architects. They never dropped the ball on us, and it was a great experience. Their experience with newer technologies and products also made our collaboration more interesting.

How did EcDev Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

I was watchful with some of the due dates, but they turned out to be very good at sticking to deadlines. Their project management is amazing, and they were on board with our methodology from the very beginning. From day one, their project manager was very capable of running agile ceremonies, daily scrums, demos, and retrospectives.

We used Slack, JIRA, Confluence, GitHub, and Figma.

What did you find most impressive about them?

EcDev Studio has hard workers. They understood the overall magnitude of what we were building and solved any complex problem we threw their way. Their ability to think through the whole thing and come back and have a meaningful conversation with us was valuable. We didn’t have to explain things over and over again Everything was clear to them, and they picked up the work like professionals.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not really. They were pretty good in all aspects, and I was lucky to find somebody that understood our vision and wanted to support and work with us to achieve our objectives.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a lead generation company and I’m the founder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with EcDev Studio?

We needed backend support for our website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They do light design work in HTML and all of the backend integrations, including APIs. They do database work as well, including custom coding that’s unique to our purpose.

What is the team composition?

I have two points of contact, the owner and a project manager. On the backend, they have 6-7 different developers working on our website.

How did you come to work with EcDev Studio ?

I found them on Upwork.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested approximately $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in January 2018, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

All of our campaigns have been functional.

How did EcDev Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very good. Most of the time our project manager understands all of the technical requirements. Sometimes the requirements get translated to the developers weirdly, and we have to do a re-work. For the most part, though, they do grasp what we’re trying to accomplish.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their quality is higher than other companies I’ve worked with. The amount of rework is less than some other developers I’ve hired.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I wish they would come to me proactively with ideas rather than just being order-followers.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to have clear specs. It can’t be vague if you want to get the most out of the engagement and be successful.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO for DNotes Global, an online cryptocurrency-based company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with EcDev Global?

We hired them to support building our women’s empowerment website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Their team created the site using PHP, MySQL, WordPress, and JavaScript. Within the site, they built the membership section of the platform, including integrating the method of payment through WooCommerce.

They created features to enable member profiles and community discussions, announcements, and information sharing on the platform. 

What is the team composition?

I work with their owner, a project manager, and two developers. 

How did you come to work with EcDev Global?

They connected with me on LinkedIn. One driving factor for why I decided to work with them was their cost.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $30,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January 2019 and our engagement is ongoing—they’re working on other projects for us now. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

They provided a complete development solution for us and know how to code in the multiple languages we need. They’ve been able to tackle every aspect of the project for us. 

How did EcDev Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

At every step of the way, they provide me with information on what they’re working on and testing. They bring their work to the site and we do live testing, too. We communicate on a regular basis. They manage the project very well. Whenever there is an issue, they jump on it right away and get it resolved as quickly as possible. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Coming from mostly working with freelancers, their ability to work on every aspect of the project stands out. They do great work on the front- and backend, along with improving the design and functionality. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything off the top of my head.